


Last Minute

by xpaperheartso



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buddie Trick or Treat, Fluff, Hen & Karen mentioned, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27346306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xpaperheartso/pseuds/xpaperheartso
Summary: It's all going according to plan, until it's not.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 124
Collections: Buddie Trick or Treat, The Buddie Brigade





	Last Minute

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BrianJustin4Ever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianJustin4Ever/gifts).



> Happy Halloween!! You get a treat! <3
> 
> For [BrianJustin4Ever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianJustin4Ever/pseuds/BrianJustin4Ever) from the [Buddie Discord Trick or Treat"](https://discord.gg/SYNFsg8D) event!
> 
> Thank you [DramamineOnTopOfMe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramamineOnTopOfMe/pseuds/DramamineOnTopOfMe) for the beta <3

“Eggs?”

“Check!”

“Cheerios?”

“Check!”

Buck drew a line through ‘Cheerios’, followed by ‘Peanut butter’, ‘Toilet paper’, and ‘Yogurt’. 

“Welp, that’s all the basic stuff. Now for the fun stuff.” 

He slipped the Beetlejuice-themed note paper into his pocket before crossing his arms, cocking his head at the much shorter boy currently crossing off his own list. Chris was a big fan of having his own list, and Buck and Eddie were more than happy to indulge. 

“We didn’t forget anything, did we bud?”

Chris shook his head. “Nope!”

“Excellent. So, you wanna check out the Halloween stuff?” 

Chris’ smile grew and he nodded excitedly, glasses sliding just a fraction down his nose. “I think we need more lights.” Buck’s eyebrows rose a little at the suggestion. “More? I thought you liked the purple spiders and orange pumpkins?”

Chris nodded again. “Yeah but we didn’t get green.” As if the simple oversight of not having green lights was something Buck should’ve noticed. 

Still smiling, Buck shook his head. “You’re right Superman, I can’t believe we forgot green!”

Chris shimmied his shoulders in a way that meant he was proud of himself, which only made Buck smile more. The boy took the lead towards the holiday section, with Buck following with the cart. Costco definitely didn’t skimp on Halloween, Chris had picked out this year’s costume just two weeks ago from their generous selection. Batman was all the rage this year for Chris, Abuela had already started to decorate his crutches with paper bats. 

“Look Buck! They have green ghosts!” Chris pointed excitedly at a box of said lights, a shelf just out of his reach. Buck tried not to think about how one day, Chris would be able to reach that shelf and then some in a few years.

“Just like Ghostbusters!” Chris cheered as Buck placed the lights into the cart. “We should do that next year.”

Buck smiled, heart doing that soft, mushy thing it always did when something - or someone, usually Chris - reminded him of the endless memories he had to look forward to with his family. Just the thought of  _ next year _ brought a tightness to his throat, so much that he had to bite his lip in the hopes it might loosen. 

“You got it bud,” Buck nodded. “Next year.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The duo had added a neon purple cat for the front yard to their cart alongside the green ghost light, when Buck noticed the time. They were supposed to be meeting Eddie and Hen at the local pumpkin patch once the two got off shift. Karen was also scheduled to bring Denny along, which meant the majority of the time spent would go to pictures. Not that Buck minded - in fact, he was going to be right next to Karen trying to get the better picture so he could upload it to Facebook before she did. A little friendly competition amongst parents. 

His heart fluttered again. This time he smiled, eyes drifting to watch Chris walk beside him. 

The timing was quite perfect, since Chris began to slow down, looking to the right as if something had caught his eye. All Buck could see was a special display for bags of ravioli pasta, but he didn’t pay much notice otherwise. Chris approached the display and immediately became excited, hands fidgeting with the handles of his crutches. 

“Buck! Buck look! L-look at the noodles!” 

Unable to ignore the excited glimmer in his kid’s eyes, Buck walked over and picked up the bag to inspect it. The corners of his lips quirked upward, as he realized the ravioli were shaped like pumpkins and bats - they even matched the colors of the shapes! 

“Wow...Good job Superman! Check it out.” Buck pointed out the specially shaped pasta, Chris’ eyes going wide with delight. “We  _ have _ to get it. We can cook it f-for Halloween!”

Buck wasn’t about to deny his kid fun-shaped food - hell, if he’d been shopping on his own back before the 118 and saw these babies? He’d have bought at least two bags. Maybe three, depending on his mood. As it were, he decided to stick with the one bag since it seemed more than enough for the three of them. Besides, Buck knew that between him and Eddie, they’d let Chris have the majority of the pasta anyway. 

While waiting in the checkout line, Chris voiced a very interesting thought. “Do you think the pumpkin noodle tastes like pumpkin? Does the black noodle taste like chocolate?”

When Buck thought about it, the idea made complete sense. Looking at the pumpkin shapes, he could definitely picture biting into it and tasting pumpkin, rather than pasta and meat. His stomach growled eagerly at the image, and suddenly he wished he could cook them as soon as possible just to find out. 

“I hope so buddy.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Against all odds, Eddie was the winner of the ‘Cutest Kid Photo’ contest. Buck and Karen had become a little too absorbed in one-upping each other, Hen had stepped away to take a call, and Eddie caught the perfect shot to cover the rest of the Fall season. 

His reward was bragging rights until Christmas, which Buck knew would only fuel the competitive streak his fiancé attempted to hide. 

Facebook went wild with gushing likes and comments.

Instagram reaped even more attention.

And the boys both found their jack-o-lantern pumpkin for the year.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

“Hang on a sec, you want to do what?” 

Buck glanced at Eddie, who was looking at their son with confusion and surprise. 

“I wanna be Pasta Batman! Like the noodles we bought!” Chris exclaimed, looking between both of them. 

The original plan was for Chris to be Batman, Eddie to be the Joker, and Buck to dress as Robin. Currently, all of their costumes were laid out on their respective beds, ready to be slipped on after dinner before heading out to trick or treat. 

Buck released a half-chuckle. “Pasta Batman huh? Why the switch up?” 

Chris tilted his head just a fraction. “Because! A bunch of kids are gonna be Batman, but nobody is gonna be  _ Pasta _ Batman!” 

His concise, matter of fact tone suggested the reasoning was quite obvious. Buck turned to Eddie, who sighed before squatting down to his son’s level. “You really wanna do this son?” Buck knew Eddie was hoping Chris would decide to stick to the original costume plan, but they both knew once their kid got something into his head, it was difficult to dissuade him.

Chris nodded, his signature smile - dimples included - flashing brightly. Buck and Eddie could hardly say no to that smile. Hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem in the future.

Eddie patted Chris’ shoulder. “Alright. Pasta Batman it is.” Eddie planted a quick kiss on Chris’s head before standing, hands automatically resting on his hips. Buck forced himself not to stare - it was one of his favorite Eddie poses. 

“So, how do you wanna do this? You uh, you want to wear the mask and the suit too? We can take out all the bat noodles and you can carry them in a basket.”

Chris squinted, “I want the mask, but I want my suit to be a big noodle.” He giggled, and Buck stifled one of his own once the image of Batman with a bat-shaped noodle suit popped into his brain. He glanced at the clock and realized if they were gonna pull this off, they had to do it now.

“Sounds good buddy, why don’t you check your room and make sure your costume is altogether. Your dad and I gotta brainstorm.” Buck ruffled the curls on the boy’s head as he spoke, eliciting another giggle, followed by a compliant nod.

Once Chris was out of the room, Buck turned to Eddie, who ran a hand through his own hair with another sigh. “God I love that kid, but Pasta Batman?” Eddie gestured randomly with his hands, confused. Buck merely shrugged before taking one of Eddie’s hands and squeezing gently, stepping into his fiancé's space. 

“We both knew we weren’t gonna say no, Eddie. He’s got us wrapped around those little fingers,” Buck murmured, eyes going soft as their eyes met. Eddie hummed as he leaned in and they shared a gentle kiss, Eddie’s free hand moving to the back of Buck’s neck. 

“So how exactly are we going to whip up this pasta suit in two hours Evan?” 

Buck offered a half-shrug and a smile. “We always find a way,  _ Diaz _ .”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Eddie seemed doubtful. He wasn’t very good at hiding it around Buck, and the creases on his forehead and the furrow in his brows were a dead giveaway. 

“Babe, I love you but a pillow?”

Buck shook his head. “A pillow _ case _ . There is a difference y’know.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes playfully. “So, you’re going to cut the edges in order for it to look like a bat? Then stuff it?” 

“Well I’ve got to leave a space for Chris to actually  _ wear _ this, but yeah pretty much. We can stuff the wings with old tissue paper to fill it out and boom! Pasta Batman.”

Eddie still seemed a smidge skeptical, but Buck was already planning for the next step as he penciled the wing outline onto the black pillowcase. “Oh and could you call Abuela and ask her if we could come use her sewing machine? I know hardly anything about stitching, let alone sewing,” Buck continued. 

A few minutes later and Buck was on his way to Abuela’s, pillowcase and tissue paper in hand. When Buck explained the situation in more detail, the older woman burst out laughing. “And this is why he is my favorite grandchild,” she giggled. 

The work was fairly quick thanks to the machine and Abuela’s experience, and even though Buck was an amateur, he’d done quite well on the measurements according to his soon-to-be-mother-in-law. 

“Don’t forget to send me a picture! And bring him by before I run out of candy!” Abuela called out after Buck headed towards his Jeep, complete costume in hand. He tossed her a quick wave and an appreciative smile before heading home, with just enough time to have a snack before slipping into his own costume for the night.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Buck was pretty sure he’d never forget the look of pure joy on his son’s face that Halloween. The click of Eddie’s phone ensured the moment was encapsulated forevermore, even if the photo would never completely do the original moment justice. Chris had been practically bouncing with excitement as soon as Buck returned from Abuela’s, and it had taken an extra few seconds to get the costume on due to all the excited wiggling. 

It was an absolute perfect fit, and even though it was a little funny to look at, Chris was on cloud 9 and Buck wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eddie was already donning his Joker ensemble when Buck got home, and once Chris was dressed he ran into their bedroom to quickly change into his Robin costume. He remembered to grab a spare flashlight in case they needed it, pausing to check himself in the mirror and adjusting the thin cape on his shoulders. 

“Hey handsome, you ready to head out? Chris is practically tap-dancing out there.” Eddie stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets, dark eyes analyzing Buck’s costume. 

“See anything you like?” Buck teased with a wink. 

Eddie rolled his eyes and turned as if to leave. “Hold onto the mask. It suits you.”

Buck’s smile turned wolfish, blue eyes sparkling. “Mmm, do tell.”

Later, as they are waiting for Chris to reach the next house in search of candy, Buck will whisper into Eddie’s ear, requesting he keep the gloves for later. Eddie will blush underneath the face paint and cough before nodding his agreement. 

But for now, the two head into the living room where Chris is waiting, his candy bag sitting empty on the coffee table. Eddie offers to carry it first, and with that they head out into the neighborhood. 

Under the mesmerizing blue glow of the Full Blue Moon, the streets come to life with kids of all ages sporting costumes of great varieties. A power ranger here, a handful of Elsa’s and Ana’s there, and a dozen or so classic horror icons such as Michael Myers. Buck notices the Eagan’s have gone with a Jurassic Park theme, their two-year old daughter Millie dressed as a Velociraptor while being pulled in a red wagon decorated like a cage. Buck totally doesn’t take notes for future Halloween ideas. 

They expected a few of the houses to ask Chris what he was dressed up as, but the Batman mask made it pretty obvious for a majority. They even bumped into another Batman and took a nice picture of the two kids putting on their most serious faces. 

“Hey Buck?” Chris started about an hour into trick or treat.

“Yeah buddy?”

“The orange noodles didn’t taste like pumpkins.” 

Buck bit back a laugh. He’d forgotten about Chris’ comment in the store earlier that day. “Aw shucks. That’s no fun!” He sighed. “What about the bats? Did they taste like chocolate?” 

Chris shook his head. “Nope. Plain old ravioli.” 

Buck shook his head and furrowed his brows in disappointment. “They really tried to fool us, but we’re too smart for them, right bud?” 

Chris’ smile returned. “Right!”

Meanwhile, Eddie looked between the two of them as if they were crazy.

Buck leaned in toward Eddie. “I’ll explain later.”


End file.
